Help construct two separate blocks of latrines for girls and boys in two schools in Ethiopia to increase the number of children who attend.  

Why we care: During brainstorming sessions with primary school girls in Yeka and Akaki, Ethiopia, girls reported that lacking access to separate latrines for girls was a barrier to being in school; often times the latrines that were available didn’t have doors or running water.

How we’re solving this: Constructing two separate blocks of latrines for girls and boys in two schools in Ethiopia.

The idea that an educated girl could lift her community out of poverty is not part of the collective culture in rural Ethiopia.  Instead, girls are often forced to drop out of school and devote their time to household chores or marry at a young age to ensure that they will survive.

But an education will give a girl more than survival—it will give her the chance to thrive.  She will have the opportunity to create her own livelihood, defend her rights, manage her own finances, and understand health practices to protect herself and her children against HIV and malnutrition.

What’s more, she will have the resources to pull her entire family and community out of poverty.  History has proven time and time again that an educated girl can change the world. Plan Ethiopia works to help communities understand this transformative fact by promoting girls’ education at the individual, family, and community levels.  The Girls’ Empowerment through Education Project targets over 5,000 girls between the ages of 7 and 14 in sub-cities of Addis Ababa by focusing on four initiatives including:

• Establishing girls’ clubs in schools to create a support system that promotes an understanding of girls’ rights;
• Celebrating annual girls’ day in schools to build community awareness about the importance of a primary education for girls among parents and teachers;
• Improving girls’ academic performance by offering tutorial classes so that girls don’t fall behind and ultimately end up dropping out of school; and
• Creating girl-friendly schools that are safe from violence, with separate bathrooms and adequate drinking water.

Through this project, Plan Ethiopia will construct two separate blocks of latrines for girls and boys in two schools in Ethiopia to increase the number of children who attend school. Doing so will give all children in the community—girls and boys—the knowledge and the tools they need to be contributing members of their community.